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Funter Bay History: Some Assorted Machinery

October 22, 2014

I came across some more photos of derelict machinery at Funter Bay. These devices are in the vicinity of the cannery, in most cases their original purpose is unknown.

First, what appears to be a small vertical bottle steam engine with one cylinder:

Unfortunately it is hard to tell the size, but I would estimate it is about 3-4ft tall (with the base buried in the ground). Small steam engines like this had a variety of uses, including small steam launches, and portable power for winches, machine tools, sawmills, etc.

Next is another view of a device found on one of the scows in Scow Bay. It appears to be a small engine or compressor. From what I can tell of the lettering, it was made by Gardner in Quincy, IL and is marked “patent-pending”. The model number at the bottom looks something like 2XF80 or LXB80. This was probably manufactured prior to 1927, when the company became Gardner-Denver. Any machinery buffs reading this are encouraged to enlighten/correct me!

Also found at the cannery is a neatly stacked cache of light railroad track. This may have been for a marine railway, a freight tramway on one of the wharves, or some other use in the cannery.

At least one historic photo shows small cart frames riding on tracks at the Funter Bay cannery. However, the tracks look more like pipes or boards than standard rails. The wheels are double-flanged, suggesting this was one track with no switches or branches.

This may have been for loading cases of cans into retorts for cooking, as seen in this photo of another cannery. I have not seen any other photos of rails inside or outside the cannery buildings, although some other canneries had tracks around the property for moving freight and fish.

This hemispherical planter is likely the pressure door from one of the cannery retorts:

And this small tractor is a mystery to me, as I don’t remember where in the bay I found it! I believe it was somewhere in the woods near the cannery:

1 Comment | Alaska History, Funter Bay History | Tagged: Alaska, Cannery, Equipment, Funter Bay, Funter Bay History, Machinery, Rusty, southeast, Southeast Alaska, Steam Engine | Permalink
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Alaska Railway Technology

October 17, 2014

This post examines some of the technologies, construction techniques, and equipment commonly found on small railways and tramways in Alaska (many of which I have documented here).

Alaska short line railways were often built rapidly on a shoestring budget, to serve an industry of unknown financial return. In several cases they were built as parts of investment schemes or frauds, and never intended to be permanent. As such, these lines used many techniques developed for temporary logging, mining, and construction railroads in the Pacific Northwest. They also used a wide range of motive power, often choosing cost over effectiveness.

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Rails:

The simplest and cheapest guide rails were simply logs laid end to end, the so-called “pole road”. This could be traversed by a wide-flanged wheel or even a tire-less automobile rim. The ride was generally not very smooth and required a very low speed. The poles would only last a few years at best, and less in rainy coastal climates. In Alaska, such tramways were typically under a mile in length and hauled by animals, although lower-48 logging companies used everything from steam locomotives to tractors to modified trucks. Fairbanks miner and contractor H. M. Henning placed a want ad in a 1905 edition of the Engineering News Record seeking a pole road locomotive, I have been unable to determine where he intended to use it or if he ever purchased one.

The next step up from poles were wooden rails, often 4x4s cut by an on-site sawmill. This was sometimes referred to as a “plank tramway”. Rails could be covered with strap iron to improve the lifespan of the wood. Most standard rolling stock and light locomotives could be used on iron-topped planks. A downside was the tendency to “snakehead”, the metal straps could come un-pinned from the wood and curl up to pierce the bottom of the cars. Tramways of this type could be found all over Alaska in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ranging from 1-15 miles in length.

Standard iron or steel rails were the mark of a better-funded and more permanent railway or tramway. Rails are rated by weight in pounds per yard, so “30lb rail” means that 1 yard of rail weighed 30lbs. The heavier the locomotive and cars, the heavier the rail needed to be. Modern North American railroads commonly use 75-140lb rails. Mine cart tracks were sometimes as light as 8lbs. Street railway track was commonly 30-45lbs. For small contractor’s locomotives such as the one used at Funter Bay (approximately 10 tons loaded weight), the manufacturers recommended a minimum of 25lb rail, although 15-20lb rails were common on short lines. The AJ Mine hauled heavy rock loads over 50lb rails. The White Pass & Yukon also used 50lb rails. The Tanana Valley Railroad and the Yakutat & Southern Railroad both used 40lb rails. The Alaska Railroad began with 55-75lb rails and now uses 115-141lb rails on main line and 90lb on some sidings.

Some example rail sizes based on the author’s collection.

Low budget railways often purchased second-hand “relaying” track that had been pulled out of service due to wear or damage. Rails were in such demand that they were often pulled up and re-laid 3 or 4 times as companies closed or failed and equipment was sold to other operations. Track condition was less important at the low speeds of most small railways and tramways, but court documents record a number of injuries from derailments on Alaskan short lines.

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Grades:

For flat ground, the simplest grade was a corduroy road with rails spiked to it. This was commonly used on muskeg or permafrost, where the grade could “float” on top of the loose ground. It was subject to subsidence and frost heave, and often became a roller-coaster track after a few years. Ties could also be laid directly on the ground, although they tended to sink in if spaced too far apart.

As flat ground is a rare commodity in coastal regions of Alaska, a more common approach was the trestle grade. This raised most or all of the track on wooden supports, which could maintain a level path over and around uneven ground. High enough trestles also eased snow removal. A walkway was sometimes provided between the rails for humans or draft animals.

Tram with wooden grade and center walkway, with part of a hand-pulled car. Photo courtesy AKphill.

Two types of grade are seen below, rails on corduroy are on the right, and a log trestle is on the left:

Courtesy of Alaska State Library, MS 247 1_02

A variant of trestle grades is the boardwalk tram, where rails were laid on or into a wider wooden boardwalk (examples of which can be found in place of roads in many rural communities). These typically ran between multiple buildings of an industrial complex such as a cannery, mine, smelter, or pulp mill.

Boardwalk tramway at Sand Point:

Public domain photo courtesy of USGS Photo Library.

Gravel-ballasted grades were a significant upgrade and represented a long-term commitment to the rail line. They required significant labor, extensive ground preparation and surveying, and a ready source of gravel, but paid off with less ongoing maintenance. Some mines used their crushed tailings or waste rock as track ballast. Even a gravel-ballasted railroad grade could suffer from permafrost heave and ground deformation, as seen in the below photo of the CRNWRR grade, 20 years after abandonment:

Public domain photo courtesy of USGS Photo Library.

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Power:

Horses and mules were often the first “power” on small tramways. Some short lines continued using draft animals into the 1920s, although others upgraded to mechanical power as finances and hauling tonnage dictated. In the Nome area, and reportedly in other parts of the state, dog teams were used to pull small flatcars. These were often called “pupmobiles”.

Public domain photo courtesy USGS Photo Library

Very short and/or very steep tramways used fixed or stationary engines, either steam donkeys, small internal combustion winches, or electric hoists. Usually a very steep tramway was referred to as an “Incline”, and could operate either as a single-track or a 3-4 rail funicular.

A few incline trams were of the gravity or counterweight type, using only (or mostly) the weight of a descending car to raise the ascending car on a parallel track. This worked best when there was a steady supply of rock (ore and/or tailings) at the upper end.

Steam locomotives began replacing horse power in the 1880s, and remained in use in Alaska into the 1950s. Small “dinkey” engines could be found all over the state, the design of choice for most short lines was the 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive. The short wheelbase allowed a tight turning radius and ability to take uneven track. The small size gave a good power to weight ratio and simplified delivery to remote locations. No tender was needed, as water was stored in saddle tanks hung over the boiler and fuel could be kept in bins in the cab. Such locomotives could be purchased new from major manufacturers including H.K. Porter, Baldwin, and Davenport, who marketed them to mines, plantations, factories, and contractors. They could also be acquired second-hand from construction companies in the lower 48. When urban street railways began electrifying, small steam dummies became available as surplus. Fuel was local coal or wood, making operation relatively cheap. The main drawbacks were low speed and limited fuel capacity. Several midsize railroads in Alaska (Such as the Y&SRR and TVRR) outgrew their original saddle tank engines and upgraded to faster, longer-range units.

Small locomotives were often described by loaded weight and piston size. 8-10 ton locomotives with 7×12 pistons were common in Alaska. A few short lines used 0-4-2 configurations, allowing slightly more speed and hauling power at the expense of wider turns, and at least one short line seems to have used an 0-4-4 locomotive.

Internal combustion locomotives were also found on small Alaska railroads. Many were home-made affairs cobbled together from spare parts. Converted tractors and autos were common, with Ford cars and Fordson tractors being some of the most popular. Small gasoline switch engines were sometimes used, and sometimes steam locomotives were converted to use oil or gas engines. A variety of railway “critters” can be seen in this video, operating at Nome after the steam railroad was converted to a public tramway. These are some good examples of some of the locally-built motive power found on other Alaskan short lines.

Electric battery locomotives were often found underground, but were less common for surface tramways. A few larger mines used trolley-type electric locomotives, with power supplied by overhead wires. Both types required a cheap source of electricity (usually hydroelectric dams or ditch systems).

Battery locomotive at Apollo Mine, photo courtesy AKphill.

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Rolling Stock:

Small 4-wheeled flat cars were the most versatile and popular rolling stock found on Alaska short lines. They could handle sharp curves, carry most types of load, and be pushed or pulled by anything from humans to locomotives. During construction of a railroad or mine, they could haul materials and lumber, and after completion they could haul loose material with the addition of stake and fence sides. Often these would be coupled via long poles which increased the turning radius between cars. Longer loads could be stacked across two cars, or a temporary flat car could be built using two smaller cars as individual trucks. Photos commonly show short trains of 2-3 cars pushed ahead of the locomotive, especially uphill. This likely assisted with braking, as the cars would not have their own brakes.

Lumber on coupled flat cars at Berner’s Bay, photo courtesy of Michael & Carolyn Nore

Once a mine or industry had finished construction and begun hauling regular loads on its railroad, more specialized cars were sometimes used. For mines these usually included small 4-wheeled ore carts or larger hopper cars. Canneries also favored box hoppers to transport bulk fish. Coal depots usually had small side-dump cars (vs end-dump mine cars). Only a few small railroads used dedicated passenger cars, more often workers would ride to the job site on modified flatcars or on the locomotive. This was often in violation of company safety rules, occurring with a nod and a wink from the train crew and resulting in injuries when cars derailed or collided.

Leave a Comment » | Alaska History | Tagged: Alaska, locomotive, Mining, Railroads, railway, Southeast Alaska, steam locomotive, tracks, tram, Tramroad, Tramways | Permalink
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Narrow Gauge Model Trains

September 24, 2014

Recent work on my list of Alaska short line railroads has gotten me interested in toy trains again (or, excuse me, “model” trains). I discovered that there is a whole subset of HO-scale model railroading for narrow gauge, in HOn3 (scale 3′ or 36″) and HOn30 (scale 30″, aka HOe). While 36″ was more common and has more “prototypes” (the real railroads on which models are based), scale track for it is somewhat less available. HOn30 happens to match N-scale track, which makes it more attractive to modelers on a budget.

Alaska had a few 30″ rail lines (as well as 24″, 36″, 42″, and others). As I’ve discussed on my railroad page, most of the locomotives used on these lines were small 0-4-0 saddle tankers re-purposed from lower-48 industry and construction. A few companies happen to make HOn30 industrial locomotives and cars for modeling, and I couldn’t resist buying some more toys!

My first experiment in HOn30 includes some 2nd-hand track, a BCH Minitrains 0-4-0 steam locomotive, and a string of cars including coal, ore, log cars, and a caboose. There is a very good review of the locomotive set here. The company also makes a Plymouth gas locomotive and a variety of rolling stock.

Right now these are just a static display. I have some HO scale stuff packed away from my childhood, and have been hoarding more as I find it at garage sales, but don’t have time to set any of it up and run it. In the mythical “some day” when all my projects are done, I’d like to model a small Alaska mine railroad (current estimates hover around age 60). Until then, these are really fun conversation pieces!

Above is an example of how small these are, the narrow gauge locomotive is shown next to a standard-gauge 0-4-0 switcher that I picked up at a garage sale. A real-world photo of standard and small narrow gauge locomotives can be seen here.

For anyone interested in modeling Alaska short lines, there are a wide variety of locomotives available new and used (eBay has quite a few). European models are quite popular and most manufacturers seem to be in Europe, using the “HOe” designation for 30″ scale gauge. Side-tank locomotives are more common in the model world, but were very rare in Alaska (so far I know of only one, an 0-6-0 Baldwin at the Apollo mine). Small flatcars were the most common rolling stock in real life (but less common in model form). Ore cars, log cars, and other specialty cars were also used.

I would love to get my hands on an H.K. Porter with the shorter saddle tank, as it was the most typical of small Alaskan lines. However, they seem to be rare in HOn30 form, and seem to be mostly home brewed / scratch built / kit-bashed by people with more time and patience than I. The little engine I bought is labeled as a Porter and has Porter’s logo on the front, but some reviewers believe it is more closely based on a Baldwin prototype. Both builders offered nearly identical models of this size and design in the early 1900s.

1 Comment | Projects | Tagged: HO, HOn30, Minitrains, model trains, narrow gauge, railroad | Permalink
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Funter Bay History: Post Office

August 26, 2014

The Funter post office opened in July of 1902. Located at the Thlinket Packing Co cannery, It served local residents, cannery and mine workers, and outlying homesteads and fox farms. I’ve previously mentioned the post office in discussions of communication and mail boats.

Photo by Harold Hargrave. Undated (post-1941). Courtesy of Alaska State Library, Place File. ASL-P01-3753.

Even before a formal post office was founded, a number of mail boats would stop at Funter on a regular basis to serve the mines there, relying on passenger and freight traffic to cover their costs.

An article in the January 1903 Daily Alaska Dispatch noted that Funter Bay had a post office, but did not yet have a contract for mail delivery. In March of 1903 the assistant postmaster general for Alaska reportedly was considering “the establishment of better mail facilities for Funter post-office” (Daily Record-Miner). By June there was an initial contract with Henry Shattuck to deliver mail every 6 weeks. Shattuck reportedly arranged to buy the steamer Prosper from the Alaska Steamship Co in July of 1903, then formed the Juneau Steamship Co in August and decided to buy the Georgia instead. He is better known for his real estate and insurance ventures, but maintained ownership in various mail boats for some time as well.

Various boats which carried the mail, either under government contract or on an ad-hoc basis, included the Flosie, Rustler, Georgia, Seolin, St. Nicholas, Ramona, Estebeth, Forester, Margnita, and likely several others.

In 1906 a government report described “A cannery, a store, and a post-office with weekly mail service via Juneau” at Funter Bay.

1906 Mail Steamer ad

A 1912 Dispatch article discussed the mail service to outlying communities, including Funter Bay. Mail from outside was received in Juneau on steamships, then sorted and distributed to mail boats serving the surrounding area. The Juneau postal staff complained of the burden of meeting late or irregular boats.

1915 Advertisement

The Funter post office served an area extending across Lynn Canal to Point Couverden (with several fox farms), and down Mansfield Peninsula to Hawk Inlet. A cannery opened at Hawk Inlet around 1911, and several mines were operating around 1900, but there was no post office there until 1913. Prior to that year, someone had to row 15 miles to Funter or walk over the mountain to pick up the mail. This was not without risks, as mentioned in a previous post, a Mr. J. Caper fell and broke his ankle while crossing the mountain on a 1910 mail run.

Mail at Funter was general delivery, recipients had to visit the post office to pick up their mail. Addresses consisted of the recipient’s name with “Funter, Alaska” or “Funter Bay” underneath, zip codes were not used until the 1960s. Much of rural Alaska shared the 5-digit 99850, Funter Bay’s full zip code was 99850-0140. The USPS serial number for the Funter post office was 05544.

Freight could also be sent this way, although the following letter (found in government archives) notes that the mail boat would not carry certain items like blasting powder.

This history of postmasters at Funter is somewhat patchy, and seems to include several people who resigned or left suddenly, leaving other residents to fill in until being officially recognized by the USPS. A list of Postmasters with their start dates is below, based on various government and journal records as well as Melvin Ricks’ Alaska’s Postmasters and Postoffices; 1867-1963.

Postmasters at Funter Post Office:

-James T. Largan, appointed July 3rd 1902.

-James T. Barron (Cannery owner), appointed June 24 1904. Received $10.00 in compensation for the position. (ref) (As Barron was only on-site in the summers, there may have been a cannery caretaker covering the position unofficially in the winters, handling mail for the mines and other residents).

-William N. Williams, appointed 5-7-1926. Listed as the cannery superintendent in 1929 (per Pacific Fisherman, Vol 27, 1929).

-Raymond A. Perry, appointed 5-13-1930. Resigned in June of 1931, Clarence Withrow or Charles Otteson suggested as replacements.

-Clarence A Withrow (or Winthrow?). Appointed 6-29-1931, status changed / “assumed charge” again on 9/30/1931 (perhaps confirmed as permanent from a temporary status?). Also a cannery employee. Taken ill with appendicitis in November of 1934, requiring an operation (per Pacific Fisherman, Vol 32, 1934).

-Burdine H. Carroll. Appointed (took over after Withrow fell ill?) on 9-12-1934, “Assumed Charge” again 11/17/34 (again, this probably indicates the date he was confirmed as permanent). Resigned without official permission 10-1-1939. Some genealogical information is here. According to the Petersburg Press, Carroll was appointed in October.

-John H. Hibbs, appointed 10-24-1939, also “Assumed Charge” / confirmed 11-19-39. Died in office, no date given, probably 1941.

-Hans Floe, appointed 7-8-1941. As with predecessors, “Assumed Charge” 9-19-41. Removed from office (no date, probably 1944). Employee of the P.E. Harris Packing Co, who owned the cannery at the time. Had previously been the superintendent at the Hawk Inlet cannery (per Pacific Fisherman, Vol 39, 1941). According to Kinky Bayers’ notes, Hans came to the US from Norway in 1905, started with P.E. Harris in 1911, and died in 1947 at age 61. His wife was Marie Hansine Floe and daughters were Marie, Odney, Haldis, and Agnes.

-Harold F. Hargrave, appointed 11-30-1944. (Some sources say he served as Postmaster starting in 1941). AC/confirmed 1-1-1945. May have “officially” been the postmaster until ~1955 with others filling in during the later years. Lived at Funter until the 1980s.

Harold Hargrave at Funter Bay in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of Alaska State Library, Place File, ASL-P01-3842

-Virgil S. Aubert. Unlike predecessors, he is noted as “Assumed Charge” on 11-6-1953, with no formal appointment. He is listed as “Acting” Postmaster on 12-14-1953. May have been filling in for Hargrave. Some genealogical information is here.

-Stanley Warnock. Also “Assumed Charge” on 7-9-1954, without a full appointment, listed as “Acting” 8-6-1954, formally appointed 8-5-1955, and again “Assumed Charge” 9-30-1955. Probably the same person as “Curly” Warnock who lived in Funter Bay with his wife Cora (per Lazette Ohman).

The American Philatelist, Volume 68 of 1954 notes that:

“Funter is a mining-fishing town on Funter Bay, Admiralty Island, at the mouth of Lynn Canal. It was named in 1883 by Dall for Captain Robert Funter, an early explorer-surveyor. Mining, hunting, fishing, and trapping provide work for the employables among the ten white and Indian residents. There are no schools or churches. Office opened July 3, 1902 (James T. Largan). Present Postmaster, Harold T. Hargrave.”

After the cannery stopped regular packing operations in 1931, a year-round watchman remained on site. He operated the company store and the post office. The postal guide for 1931 noted that it was open year round, but did not issue money orders. The company store remained open, and the property was still used for fish trap and vessel maintenance.

In the 1940s the post office was inside the company store at the cannery. It was reportedly a partitioned room in the southeast corner of the building, which also housed the canteen and dining room.

Below is a WWII-era postal cover with Funter postmark. The “Emergency Flight” stamp appears to be a reference to Emergency Air Mail, a federal law allowing air mail at ground postage rates for communities cut off from normal surface mail. This was intended for communities affected by floods or other problems, but became popular in rural Alaska. It seems to have been common to mail these to the nearest major post office (in this case, Juneau), then have a forward or return address for the final intended address.

Air mail began appearing around the 1930s, with the government experimenting with different air carriers and contracts for rural service. A 1947 advertisement for Alaska Coastal Airlines notes that “Air Express” service was available to and from Funter and other small communities by request on a variable schedule.

After WWII, the post office was apparently in a separate small building for some time. This building had been the US Fish & Wildlife Service office during the Aleut internment.

The Funter post office was discontinued for the second and final time on April 19th, 1957. After the post office closed, Funter Bay became a mail stop or drop, the cannery watchman would meet the weekly plane at the dock and residents could pick up their mail at his residence. There was no longer a paid position under the USPS, and mail was postmarked in Juneau.

Sometime after Hargrave’s tenure as postmaster, a cannery watchmen and his wife apparently operated a house of ill repute at the property. By some accounts there was an illegal bar and even occasionally “ladies of negotiable affection” (as Terry Pratchett might say). They also supposedly ran some kind of mail-order scam against Sears and other catalogs. I will try to expand on this in a future post as I find more details!

The watchman in 1972 was Scotty Todd, a retired mine driller. Reportedly when the mail brought his social security check he would drop everything, jump on the plane, and go to Juneau bars until the money was gone. Neighbors would pick up and sort the mail and turn off Scotty’s generator on the occasions when he disappeared.

My Dad provided some information on mail service in the 1970s:

“The Forester was the first mail boat I rode on to Funter in 1972, owner/operator was Dave Rischel (sp?). Then he got the Betty R, had a hell of a time getting it Coast Guard approved. The Forester was approved amazingly enough with 4 automatic bilge pumps and one was always running. Dave did the run to Angoon, Tenakee, Hoonah, Elfin and Pelican and of course all the little places where anyone lived like Funter, Hawk Inlet. So when the Ferry system started up Dave got put out of business….

When I first moved there the mail boat came once a week (weather permitting). You would give Dave your list and he would buy what you wanted and charge a minimal fee. Everything from food to bringing me the plywood for my dory. We had twice a week plane service also, which was pretty handy for getting back and fourth to town. Seat fare was something like $20. Per usual lots of drinking and talking at the cannery when you got the mail from Scotty and then Jim and Blanche.”

Around 1978 the Federal government began “Essential Air Service” aka “Essential Air Transportation” which guaranteed weekly mail delivery to Funter Bay and other rural Alaskan communities. This service continues in many rural communities today.

Jim and Blanche Doyle took over the caretaker job and the mail sorting around 1973 or ’74. After they moved across the bay (around 1983), mail planes generally came to the beach at Crab Cove. The actual spot depended heavily on the tide, weather, and any passengers. Outgoing letters and packages could be left with whoever met the weekly plane. Absent residents could pick up their mail from the big mail box near the usual spot for the plane to come ashore

My Dad’s photo of the post office and “Postmaster” Jim Doyle in the 1970s deserves another use!

Leave a Comment » | Alaska History, Funter Bay History, Funter Bay People | Tagged: Alaska, Cannery, Funter Bay, Funter Bay History, History, letters, mail, post office, postal, postmark, postmaster, Southeast Alaska, stamp | Permalink
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The “Mayor” of Funter Bay

August 21, 2014

A 1954 article in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner mentions one Harold Gill of Portland, who was supposedly known as the “Mayor of Funter Bay”. Gill worked on boats and canneries at Funter Bay in 1912, 1913, and 1919. Gill was apparently “elected mayor” of Funter Bay in 1919 while working at Barron’s cannery, in a likely tongue-in-cheek campaign . Being essentially a company town, Funter did not really have any government or elected officials. However, according to Gill; “Since he has had no notice of a subsequent election, he still carries the title”.

1956 photo from the Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University

When the article was written in 1954, Gill was vice president of his family business (the J.K. Gill company), and was visiting Alaska as a group of 20 Portland businessmen. He made regular trips to Alaska and was chairman of the Portland chamber’s Alaska committee.

Harold D Gill was born around 1888 in Oregon and attended the Oregon Agricultural College (later Oregon State University), one of four men in the first (1910) graduating class in the newly formed school of Forestry. Although educated as a forester and experienced as a book seller (making many trips to Alaska selling textbooks), Gill apparently longed for a seagoing life. A classmate recalls Gill being the class character, his notebooks containing sketches of sailing ships rather than notes on the lectures.

From the Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University

Gill ended up fishing and sailing in many different parts of the state. In June of 1912, he was reportedly working the night shift at a cannery in Nushagak, AK, where he witnessed and wrote about a volcanic eruption. Gill wrote a book in 1913 about his salmon fishing experiences.

Harold married Amy Robinson in September of 1918. Both were reportedly from prominent Portland families, they lived on Montgomery Drive in Portland and Amy designed a large garden at the property. The couple moved to a new home on Talbot Road around 1922. Harold appears to have passed away around 1967 at the age of 79.

From the Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University

While Gill’s term as “Mayor” was likely just a joke, his story adds another interesting piece to Funter Bay’s history.

Leave a Comment » | Alaska History, Funter Bay History, Funter Bay People | Tagged: Alaska, Amy Robinson, Funter Bay History, Harold Gill, Mayor, Portland | Permalink
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Funter Bay History: More 1929 Photos

August 20, 2014

I recently came across some additional photos from the 1929 Alaskan Aerial Survey, conducted by the US Navy. Thanks to Richard Carstensen for sharing these! Richard had an excellent website at juneaunature.org. Also thanks to Kim Homan with the Southeast Alaska GIS Library for providing some reference information. They have put together An ArcGIS interface for locating and viewing additional aerial photos from this set.

These are very large photos, click to open them full size (may take a while to load on a slow connection).

Funter Bay viewed from the North, looking almost directly South down Chatham Strait towards Chichagof Island:

1929 US Navy Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition (Sargent, R. and Moffit, F. 1929. Aerial photographic surveys in Southeast Alaska. USGS Bull 797-E.)

Green Mountain is in the foreground on the left. Mt Robert Barron is further ahead on the left. The large island at the head of the bay is Highwater Island, with a medium tide filling the estuary behind it, but not covering the sandbar connecting it to shore.

The next photo is not at Funter, but across Lynn Canal at Swanson Harbor (behind Point Couverden). This location was used by the Thlinket Packing Co to store fish traps in the winter, and as a convenient harbor for packers during rough weather. I found it interesting because several complete and partial fish traps are seen stored in the shallows at the head of the harbor.

1929 US Navy Alaska Aerial Survey Expedition (Sargent, R. and Moffit, F. 1929. Aerial photographic surveys in Southeast Alaska. USGS Bull 797-E.)

This area goes dry at low tide, as seen in the modern photo below:

Photo from NOAA Alaska Shorezone (https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/shorezone/) used as public domain.

The traps have long since disintegrated from weather and tides, ending up as mossy logs on the beaches. The pilings driven into the mudflats in the 1929 photo have also disappeared.

In addition to use as a fish trap staging area, Swanson Harbor was tied to Funter by mail service. A few homesteads and fox farms at Point Couverden received their mail at the Funter Bay post office. A cannery was reportedly begun at Swanson Harbor around 1902 by Buschmann, Thorpe & Co, but the company failed before construction was completed. There may have been a cannery or saltery prior to this, 1897 nautical charts indicate a cannery in the same location. An 1880 map of Swanson Harbor shows an “Abandoned Indian Village” in the location of the structure seen in 1929. This is drifting further off topic, but I found it interesting enough to include here:

1 Comment | Alaska History, Funter Bay History | Tagged: aerial, Alaska, Cannery, Fish Trap, Funter Bay, Funter Bay History, Navy, salmon, Southeast Alaska, Swanson Harbor | Permalink
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Funter Bay History: Piledrivers

July 19, 2014

Construction in intertidal zones relies heavily on pilings. These posts are driven into the sand and mud of the tide flats and ocean bottom. This common construction method was (and still is) used to install docks, fish traps, wharves, and buildings extending out into the water. Pilings are similar to telephone poles in length and diameter. Installing pilings is much like hammering a nail, a large heavy object is used to repeatedly hit the top of the pole, driving it into the ground.

Diagram of a piledriver, from Foster, Wolcott C, “A Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges and Their Concrete Substitutes: According to the Present Practice on American Railroads”. 4th Edition, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1913.

In the above design, the hammer (usually a cast metal weight) slides up and down on the vertical section of the tower, pulled by cable from a winch at the rear. Piledrivers could be mounted on skids, barges, rail cars, or other platforms as needed. This design is essentially unchanged from Roman times, when drivers were powered by animals or humans. They later evolved to use steam and then internal combustion power, but the appearance largely stayed the same until the advent of diesel impact, pneumatic, and vibratory hammers.

Tractor-powered pile driver in Alaska in 1942, courtesy Library of Congress:

Piledriver hammer found underwater at Funter Bay and pulled out on shore. Note the slots on the side where the hammer would ride the vertical support rails:

Closeup showing the maker of the hammer: Vulcan Iron Works of Seattle:

Some information on Vulcan pile driver history can be found here.

A 1926 photo of a pile driver in Funter Bay can be seen below:

While modern docks generally use creosote-coated (or metal) pilings for rot resistance, early installations used untreated pilings. These have largely decayed and disappeared above the water line, although the buried sections and pilings that are above mean water level are more preserved.

Pilings at Scow Bay, as seen previously on this site:

Stubs of pilings which seem to have been cut off at ground level:

Complex piling structure supporting the approach ramp to the cannery dock:

An old pile driver is abandoned on “The Point” in Crab Cove. This was a smaller unit mounted on a skid base, it may have been part of Ray Martin’s scheme to build a logging railroad dock there, or could be leftover from some other project in the bay. The A-frame support collapsed sometime in the last 20 years, I remember when it was still standing. Power was provided by a small stationary gas engine. The large cubical tank or boiler nearby is of unknown origin.

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Funter Bay History: Aids to Navigation

May 29, 2014

Several navigational aids exist in and around Funter Bay to guide vessels entering and traversing the area. These include the Clear Point light, the “Green Can”, and the Naked Island light, as well as some informal private markers and buoys.

Prior to establishment of lights and buoys, navigators relied on written descriptions of which course to take based on local landmarks, such as these published in the 1891 Pacific Coast Pilot:

The “Green Can” buoy near the entrance (Marking Curlew Reef) was the first official navigation marker in Funter Bay. It was originally a Black Can when installed in 1906. It was located slightly to the NE from the current Green Can. This buoy indicates that vessels should pass to the right when entering (keeping the buoy off the Port side) to avoid the reef off Bare Island.

The Naked Island light was established in May 1915, as described below:

Naked Island Light. Photo from Alaska Shorezone project, used as public domain.

The Clear Point light was established in August of 1915, and consisted of a flashing white light of 15 candlepower, with “flash 0.2 second, eclipsed 1.8 seconds”, installed in a “small white house on Clear Point, northern side of the entrance to Funter Bay”.

1934 Survey of Clear Point Lighthouse Reserve:

Modern Clear Point Light:

Photo from Alaska Shorezone project, used as public domain.

The descriptions of both lights resemble the one seen below (from nearby Point Retreat):

Public Domain photo from US Coast Guard

Both were originally listed as acetylene gas lights, some information on such lights can be found here. Devices invented early in the 20th century allowed gas lights to flash automatically at night and shut off during the day through use of a heat-operated “sun valve”. Early acetylene lights used calcium carbide with a water drip system to generate the gas, similar to a miner’s headlamp, as it was considered unsafe to compress acetylene. Later systems used compressed storage tanks after the technology had improved.

Solar panels and batteries began replacing gas lights in navigational aids in the 1950s, although some lighthouses and beacons used acetylene into the 90s. Based on the changed notation on charts, Naked Island’s light seems to have been upgraded around 1971, and Clear Point around 1974.

Color tests in 1979 proved that green-colored buoys were more visible that traditional black cans. The can at Curlew Ledge changed color between 1978 and 1987 according to navigational charts.

Modern charts describe the Clear Point light as green with a 2.5 second period, 16ft above mean sea level on a platform marked “1”. The Naked Island light is noted as being 44′ above sea level with a 6-second period, not numbered. The Green Can is marked with a number “3”. The original Black Can was in almost the same location and was first marked “2”, and is shown on later charts marked “1” No marker numbered “2” is nearby presently.

Buoys and lights were initially installed and maintained by the US Lighthouse Commission, today they are under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard. Special buoy tender vessels provide regular maintenance to these navigational aids.

The closest manned light station was the Point Retreat Lighthouse at the Northern tip of Admiralty Island. Initially completed in 1904, it was later unmanned and downgraded in 1917, then rebuilt and re-manned in 1924, then automated again in 1973. It is now privately owned and there are plans to make it a museum and B&B.

Private navigation markers are sometimes placed on rocks, reefs, wreckage, or other obstructions, and are not consistently styled or maintained. The most common is a stick or pipe which protrudes above the water surface at high tide, marking a submerged object which could endanger a boat. Small buoys may also be anchored to such obstructions, although they tend to become covered with barnacles and sink after a few years if not maintained.

Below is a pole marking the old tugboat propeller in our front yard, at high tide the water would often cover the propeller, hiding it from skiffs and planes coming ashore. The pole was a popular perch for birds, especially kingfishers.

And occasionally you’d get an “aid to navigation” that was completely out of place but still appropriate, such as a float buoy used as a trail marker on land:

1 Comment | Alaska History, Funter Bay History | Tagged: Alaska, Boats, Funter Bay, Funter Bay History, History, Southeast Alaska | Permalink
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Funter Bay History: Weather

May 8, 2014

Many people from outside Alaska inquire about the cold and snow, which usually leads into a discussion of Southeast Alaska’s climate (the rainy season, and the lots-of-rain season). The temperature rarely falls below 0°F in the winter, due to warm ocean currents which reach Southeast Alaska from the Pacific Ocean. In general the climate is similar to Seattle (although wetter and about 10° cooler on average). Between 1980 and 1996 there were on average 214 days a year with precipitation. Rainfall averages about 60″ per year (compared to 37″ for Seattle and 45″ for Vancouver BC). However, it’s not as wet as other parts of Alaska like Whittier (156″), Yakutat (155″) or Ketchikan (141″).

Graphic from http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_n/N-AKtext1.html

Average air temperatures are in the 60s in summer and 30s in the winter, with extreme highs in the 80s and extreme lows in the negative single digits.

The water temperature at Funter varies between about 37°F in the winter and 50°F in the summer. Warm enough for summer swimming, especially near the shore. Dark rocks and gravel warm up in the sun at low tide, then help to warm the shallows as the tide comes in.

When it does snow, the accumulation can initially be deep (15″ in a 24hr period and 34″ total depth are some of the records). The snow does not tend to last long, instead melting into slush or getting rained on, so total buildup does not get as impressive as other parts of Alaska such as Prince William Sound and Southcentral Alaska.

Wind is the major hazard of winter weather. While many sites on the shore are protected from the worst wind by their location and nearby trees, the center of the bay can experience powerful gusts coming in from Lynn Canal and Icy Strait, as well as North wind out of the pass behind the bay. Weather Data from Point Retreat lighthouse shows several storms with 50-60mph winds in Lynn Canal in recent years.

Winds coming in from the channel can sometimes whip up large williwaws or small waterspouts in the bay:
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Unsuspecting boats have been driven ashore on occasion after anchoring in the middle of the bay (a location shown as a good anchorage on some charts). The public docks are usually better options for secure moorage if a storm is forecast.

Weather data from 1961-1996 for Funter Bay, with various summary tables and calculations, can be found here.

Another collection of weather data for Funter Bay (from 1980 to 1996) is available here.

Weather reporting from Funter Bay was part of the National Weather Service’s Cooperative Observers program. This provided vital information for pilots, fishermen, and other travelers, as well as supporting weather forecasting on a wider regional scale. Funter residents Jim and Blanche Doyle operated the Funter station and called in regular weather observations or “obs” to the local NWS office. An index from 1980 showing some of these stations (including Funter Bay) is below:

In 1985 the Doyles moved across the bay, the weather station was placed on the inactive list in June, then relocated and reactivated in August (per NOAA / National Cooperative Observer Newsletter).

A newspaper column on Alaska weather noted that Funter Bay had the statewide high of 60°F on November 25, 1987 (vs 45° at Juneau and a statewide low of -39° at Umiat that same day).

Also of importance to residents and travelers are the tides, which can change the water level 20 vertical feet in a 6-hour period. Tides are a predictable phenomenon based on the gravitation pull of the sun and moon, so tide tables are calculated and published well in advance. However, currents and geography can cause some local variations. For this reason, the government has established tide gauges at various places around Alaska in different years, including at Funter Bay. These would show the offset in minimum and maximum tidal fluctuations. Government documents refer to self-registering tide gauges installed at Funter Bay in 1894, in 1903, 1923, and 1960. NOAA’s tide data and upcoming tide tables for Funter Bay can be found here.

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Funter Bay History – Health & Medicine

April 23, 2014

Medical care in rural Alaska has always been problematic. The distance from doctors and hospitals can be inconvenient at the best of times, and life-threatening at other times. Throughout the years there have been a number of traveling doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals who visited rural areas of Alaska. Some of these have been mentioned before (such as the floating dental clinic Anna Helen which sank near Funter in 1928).

While immediate first aid frequently involved a jug of whiskey, more serious injuries usually required a trip to Juneau. The following are some accidents and medical incidents noted in historic newspapers (mainly the Daily Alaska Dispatch of Juneau):

-Undated: Two prospectors near Point Retreat were reportedly thawing frozen dynamite in their cabin, when it exploded. The cabin was destroyed and one man was seriously injured. The other set out for help, but the weather was too bad for his boat, so he walked six hours to Funter Bay along the beach. The miners at Funter dressed the injured man’s wounds and kept him warm until a steamer could bring him to the hospital four days later. (source).

-May 5, 1902: A fisherman named Brookler from the Funter Bay cannery had a pistol ball wound in his hand dressed, the shot was reported to be accidental.

-April 16, 1906: Miner J.W. Fox was in the hospital suffering from inflammatory rheumatism.

-April 11, 1908: “A Chinaman” from Funter Bay “had been fooling with a gun” and shot himself through the hand.

(Some other accidental gunshot wounds are mentioned in another post).

-June 24, 1908: An “Indian lad” broke his arm at the elbow and severe complications set in. James T. Barron brought him to Juneau on the vessel Phillip P Kelly for medical care.

-Sept 26, 1908. Funter Bay prospector Oliver Farnum died at the Sister’s hospital in Juneau, about sixty years of age. He had been “ailing for about six months”.

-June 28, 1909: “While working on one of the dams at Funter Bay”, Joseph Rose slipped and fell, fracturing two ribs. He was brought to the Simpson hospital in Juneau on the Georgia.

-December 21, 1909: Soldier J. T. Karr from Fort Seward (Haines) was injured while hunting at Funter Bay and was brought to St. Ann’s Hospital. His name is also given as John Carr in another article. The unfortunate fellow tripped on a rock and managed to fall neck-first onto an axe, which had frozen into the ground edge-upwards. The accident would have been fatal if not for a trained nurse who happened to be at Funter Bay and was able to dress and stitch the wound.

-October 31, 1910: Mr J. Caper from Hawk Inlet had walked to Funter over the mountain to pick up the mail. While returning to Hawk Inlet in the dark, he fell over a steep embankment and broke his ankle. Caper dragged himself the rest of the way over the ground, arriving four hours late, and was taken to St. Ann’s hospital on the mailboat Rustler.

-January 26, 1912: J. Olson was taken to the hospital from Funter Bay with an acute case of rheumatism.

-July 20, 1915. Funter bay prospector W. C. Miller, age 65, came down with pneumonia and took the mail boat Georgia to Juneau. He was placed in the hospital at once, but died the next day.

-Feb 27, 1917. Sam Larson had a severe attack of pneumonia and was brought to the General Hospital in Juneau. The same day, Dan Barlow of Funter Bay was released from the hospital after undergoing eye treatment.

-June 23, 1917: Sam Olson was injured in a fall at Funter Bay and taken to St. Ann hospital.

-June 26, 1917: Harry Cratty suffered a ruptured appendix at Funter Bay and was operated upon by Dr. Dawes at the General hospital.

-June 30, 1917: Olaf Johnson from Funter Bay was also operated on by Dr. Dawes

-August 1, 1917: G.C. Coffin, an employee of the Funter Bay cannery, received eye treatment at the General Hospital

-Feb 26, 1918. Captain Woods of the cannery tender Anna Barron fell 20ft down a ladder and then into the water, he was taken to St. Ann’s hospital and reported in good condition with no broken bones.

-August 17, 1919: Miss B. Blaire, a trained nurse, was taken to the hospital from Funter Bay where she had become dangerously ill with “brain fever”.

Medical care fell to a disappointing low during the WWII internment of Aleut evacuees at Funter. Government logs report that the accepted treatment for a fatal strain of flu was to “sweat it out”.

After WWII, the Teritorial Department of Health operated several floating clinics, including the MS Hygiene. This boat, sometimes known as the “shot ship”, provided vaccinations, checkups, x-rays, and other services to rural families all along the Alaskan coast (detailed article here).

-October 1, 1956: Rod Darnell of Sitka was bear hunting near Funter Bay and failed to kill his prey with the first shot. The wounded bear charged him and gave him severe lacerations to the head and neck. Darnell was treated on-site by a doctor flown out from Juneau, then brought to St. Ann’s hospital for further treatment. A story in Alaska Bear Tales relates another mauled hunter being flown out of Funter Bay in 1957.

-July 5, 1957: Ione Puustinen of Funter Bay was admitted to the Sitka Community Hospital

-June 30th 1987: An article titled “State Repeats PSP Warnings” told of an out-of-state visitor who became ill after eating mussels at Funter Bay. Officials talked of the danger of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP. Filter feeders such as mussels accumulate toxins from algae (the so called “Red Tide“) in their bodies. The victim was flown to Juneau for treatment and recovered. For many years there was a large skull and crossbones painted on one of the Funter Bay floats, with the warning “Don’t eat Mussels”.

The Alaskan bush can be a dangerous place. While most of these incidents had happy endings, they serve as a reminder to watch your step, watch the critters, and be careful what you eat (and don’t thaw your dynamite on the stove!)

1 Comment | Alaska History, Funter Bay History | Tagged: accidents, Alaska, Cannery, Funter Bay History, Health, History, hospital, injuries, medicine, Mining, sickness, Southeast Alaska | Permalink
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Saveitforparts

Funter Bay History: Some Assorted Machinery

Alaska Railway Technology

Rails:

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Grades:

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Rolling Stock:

Narrow Gauge Model Trains

Funter Bay History: Post Office

The “Mayor” of Funter Bay

Funter Bay History: More 1929 Photos

Funter Bay History: Piledrivers

Funter Bay History: Aids to Navigation

Funter Bay History: Weather

Funter Bay History – Health & Medicine

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